Traveling Alone
by TheForlornStar
Summary: Every once in a very long while, when the air sits still, and the moons align, something very extraordinary happens. Three very special, very different kits are about to begin their stories, and change the world... Rated T for violence (and cause I'm paranoid)
1. When The Air Is Still

Most nights are exactly the same as the last. The soft breeze blows, the crickets chirp, the moon and stars shine like always. The animals of the night roam the forest. And as time passes, the moon changes shape, and the stars migrate through the sky, repeating the same cycle. Nothing really changes.

But every once in a very long while, something does change. Drastically. When the breeze stills in the air, and the stars shine their brightest, and all the moons of all the planets align in such a way, that the night is special. And each time, something extraordinary happens.

And on this particular night, three stories begin, of three extraordinary kits. Who have an amazing destiny ahead of them...

* * *

A loud moan rang through the trees. It was cold, but there was no wind, and the moon and stars shone so brightly, it could blind a cat if they stared for too long. Rather strange, but there were more important things to worry about at the moment. Another loud groan was heard."Come on, you're almost done. One last push." meowed a small brown she-cat to the one in labor. The ginger she-cat closed her eyes and pushed with all her might one last time, and a tiny kit was brought into the world. "There!" The brown she cat went to work cleaning off the kit, while the ginger one rested. "You have a daughter, Sand." she mewed, once the kit was clean.

The ginger one called Sand, didn't sound so cheery. "A daughter?" She rasped, in a cold voice. "Y-yes.." The brown cat was growing nervous. Sand being upset never ended well. The bright ginger she-cat looked down at the kit for the first time. The kit was blindly squirming around, looking for her mother. She was very pretty. Smooth light brown fur, with a darker brown back and underbelly. The dark brown she cat smiled hopefully. Maybe Sand would be pleased with-

"Get rid of it!" Sand snarled, flicking the kit away with her paw, like it was a disgusting piece of fox dung, giving the kit a scratch on her forehead. It wold probably leave a scar. The she-cat was caught off guard by this. "Sand she's just a ki-"

"I said get rid of it, Apple!" Hatred burned behind Sand's eyes. "It looks just like it's father." Sadness and regret knotted in her chest. This kit would only remind her of him, every time she looked at it. Apple stepped forward. "But where do I take her?" Though she hated the thought of 'getting rid' of a kit, she knew arguing with Sand would result in failure, and a scratched ear.

Sand lashed out at her, clawing towards her face and missing by just a whisker.

"_I don't care what you do with it, just __**get it away from me!" **_she yelled.

Quickly, Apple picked up the kit and ran out into the night.

* * *

In a warm den in the middle of a large clearing, a mother cleaned her newborn kit. "She's beautiful, Shiningsnow." Meowed the dark grey tabby. The pure white she cat lifted her head. "Thank you Softbreeze. You're a good medicine cat." Her gaze was happy and grateful. But oh, was she tired. "That was a lot of work for one kit."

The newborn kit snuggled closer to her mother, ruffling her shiny sliver and white fur. "Have you thought of a name yet-" Softbreeze was interrupted by a rustling at the entrance to the den. A white and brown tom walked in. "Softbreeze, you are needed in the medicine den." meowed the tom, "Flamewing's coughing is getting worse."

With a sigh, Softbreeze stood up and began walking out. "I was afraid that might happen. Back in a moment Shiningsnow." The entrance rustled again, and the two cats were out of sight.

Shiningsnow looked down at her newborn kit. "At least now I get some time alone with you." she meowed. "What will you're name be..? Silverkit? Maybe Dewkit-" she stopped midsentence when her daughter looked up and did something most kits at this age couldn't do.

She opened her eyes.

They were a bright beautiful silver. The new mother had almost thought of another name, when she saw something truly extraordinary in the young she-kit's eyes. Shiningsnow looked very closely.

Reflected in the kit's eyes... was a wolf. She could see it clearly. A bright silver wolf, raised it's head and howled. And then it was gone. That was it then. The perfect name.

"Wolfkit..."

But Wolfkit's eyes closed once more as a shriek sounded from outside. Shiningsnow looked up in alarm. More screams and yowls were heard. Something was attacking in the camp.

Quickly, the mother stood up and picked Wolfkit up in her jaws, carrying her to the back of the nursery. Growls and screams still sounded outside, as the sounds of battle rang through the air. Two scents filled the queen's nose.

Fox and Badger.

Wait a moment. Fox _and_ badger? Something was very wrong... But that didn't matter now.

She stood in front of her newborn kit. She would protect her no matter what. There was crackling and rustling as something entered the nursery. The scent of badger overwhelmed her senses.

Her claws slid out.

"Stay away from my kit."

* * *

"Brackenclaw, I'm worried about our kits." meowed the grey-blue she-cat as she padded through the forest next to her mate. The queen was seven weeks pregnant, and almost ready to have her kits. But there was still two weeks to go. The brown tom nuzzled her affectionately. "Bluefire, everything will be fine. You heard Silverdrop. She says they're perfectly healthy." _She's been worried ever since we visited that medicine cat..._

"Oh, I don't know." Bluefire meowed quietly. "I just have a feeling something will go wrong." Brackenclaw laughed. "You worry too much." he mewed.

It was a beautiful night. Albeit cold. No breeze or anything, the air was still. Both cats thought that good, though they were puzzled as to why it was so cold when there was no wind. The stars were certaintly at their brightest. "If you say so." said the bluish she-cat. _But you know when I get a feeling about something, I'm usually right._ Bluefire fought the urge to say that. They both had enough on their minds.

The two cats finally approached their destination. Their favorite place to go at this time of night. It was a lovely spot. A high up cliff where they got the best view in the entire territory. The two mates always joked about being careful around here, and about the idea of falling. It seemed ridiculous to them because of how far they were from the edge. They weren't likely to fall at all. Tonight they had absent mindedly wandered a little too close to the edge. Brackenclaw finally noticed. "Heh, we should scoot a little closer while we're at it." he meowed jokingly. It came to Bluefire's attention how close to the edge they were. "Heh.. I dunno Brackenclaw.. It's a long fall." she meowed worriedly. Brackenclaw padded until he was at the very edge. From where he was at, the view was even more amazing. "Oh, come on. Nothing ever happens!" He smiled, looking at the view from this close. "Well..." meowed Bluefire, stepping a bit closer. "Alright. You're right, nothing ever hap-" she was interrupted as the ground beneath her paws crumbled. The she-cat lost her balance.

Bluefire let out a wail as she went tumbling down the side of the cliff. Brackenclaw ran forward to catch her, only to be there too late. _**"Bluefire!"**_he let out a horrified yowl.

But with extraordinary things, comes luck and miracles.

Bluefire fell on a part of the cliff that had a ledge below it. But it was still pretty far down. She hit the ground with a thud, and lay there comepletely still. "Bluefire!" Brackenclaw leaped down from boulder to boulder, until he reached Bluefire on the ledge. He stood by her side and looked for any sign of life. The blue she-cat stirred, and opened her eyes. _..Oh thank Starclan. Thank Starclan I'm alive._ Brackenclaw echoed her thoughts. "Thank Starclan you're alright!"

But it was a victory short lived.

Bluefire's swollen belly suddenly gave a ripple. Then another. "No..." she mewed quietly. "I'm not ready." her stomach gave another ripple and she cringed. It hurt a lot. More then it should. "Brackenclaw, I'm kitting!" she meowed, afraid. He stared in disbelief. "What, _now?"_ She rolled her eyes before another wave of pain hit her. _No, by 'now', I mean in a moon. Yes, right now!_ "It must have been the fall!" she meowed. Something in her felt wrong, something felt very wrong.

"Uh, ok when I say 'push', you need to push, ok?" Bracken fur sat beside her. "Everything will be fine." he knew that he was also saying that half to himself. Trying to stay calm, he waited for the right moment. "Ok... push!" With great effort and pain, Bluefire pushed with all her might. The pain was horrible. How many times did she have to do this? They went through this a few more times, before Bluefire's belly gave one last ripple, and the kit was born. Hurriedly, Brackenclan sniffed and licked it, checking for any signs of damage or pain in the kit.

The kit was cleaned, and Bluefire rested. After checking it many times, Brackenclaw confirmed the kit was perfectly fine. No injuries, nothing. She had been born quiet, no crying or mewling. Strange, but she was healthy. Everything was fine. "You have a healthy daughter." Brackenclaw meowed happily. Bluefire smiled, and examined her new kit. She was golden, with white paws and a white tail. Extrordinarily, the kit had opened her eyes early, and she stared up and her mother. The she kit's eyes were bright violet. "Glidekit." the mother meowed. "Her name is Glidekit."

Thought what the two didn't notice was that the kits eyes held no emotion. Glidekit stared blankly ahead.

**A/N Please R&R tell me what you think! If I get a good reaction from this then I will continue it! Thanks!**


	2. When The Moons Align

A small brown she-cat ran through the dark night, jumping over logs and roots, making her way through the forest. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, thinking desperately of a way to rid of the small life form she held in her jaws. The dangling kit cried and mewled, not understanding why it was so cold, and why she wasn't near her mother. With her eyes and ears closed, it seemed as if her mother had just dissappeared. All she felt was the cold.

Apple just blindly ran, not knowing where she was going. _Kit, kit, where do you put a motherless kit?_ She stopped and lashed her tail, scolding herself. _You don't just 'put' a kit somewhere, mousebrain!_ All was quiet, except for a sort of... roaring. _Strange..._ The kit still in her jaws, Apple made her way towards the noise. In her daze and confusion, she hadn't recognized the sound of the river.

The small she-cat stared at it for a moment, the clean, clear water tumbling over the rocks, carrying trace amounts of debris from the surrounding forest. It was beautiful. In her feeling of awe, she almost dropped the kit. _...Drop the kit...?_

The very thought horrified her, but she couldn't help but consider it. At night, the water was colder, the current was fast.. no cat could survive being caught in that. Apple took a step forward.

Well, it would certaintly be gone. All traces of it washed away. Sand would be rid of it, and Apple wouldn't have to worry... She took another step forward. All she had to do was unhook her jaws a little bit.. The kit mewled again, and looked up at Apple.

Apple was at the edge now. Just above the river. All she had to do was relax her jaws-

_Wait a minute. She __**looked**__ at me?!_

Caught off guard, Apple released her grip out of surprise. The kit had opened her eyes. She just watched a newborn kit open her eyes. _Wait. The it, the kit!_

A few things happened at once.

The newborn she-kit closed her ,apparently green eyes, a motherless kit saved her own life by opening her eyes a bit earlier then expected, because Apple dove to catch her, falling into the river. But her head never went below water. The kit was held firmly in her jaws. Well, maybe a bit _too_ firm. Apple's teeth had cut the kit's scruff in her desperation to catch her. As quick as she could, she climbed out of the water, noticing the scratches she had made. "Erm shorry! Erm Sho Shorry!" Apple meowed, through a mouthful of the kit's fur. She put the kit down and licked the wounds, while the kit mewled in pain. "Oh, that will probably leave a scar. At least I saved her."

_After I almost killed her._

Apple couldn't bring herself to do it. The kit had opened her eyes! She had to be special. Picking the kit up in her jaws, she took one last look at the freezing river. _I can't do this._

And she took off running once more.

This time she knew for sure where she was going. A place she had promised herself she would never go again. It wasn't the best place in the world, but it was the kits only chance. The kit had fallen asleep in her jaws by the time she reached the familiar barn. It was _very_ old, and leaned a bit to the side. Apple half expected it to fall over, like she always did when she saw it. The paint was chipping, and bales of hay were stacked on both sides. _I know this farm too well,_ she thought, leaping over the broken fence. Miraculously, it hadn't woken the kit.

Gently, she set the she-kit down on a pile of loose hay. This wasn't going to be easy. Apple took a deep breath. _Here we go.._

"Hey Gale! Guess who! I know you're in there, come on out!"

* * *

Sharp claws sank into the soft moss beneath the white queen's paws. All other warriors and cats were outside fighting. This was one badger Shiningsnow would have to take on herself. "Stupid flea bag, I'll rip your pelt off!" She knew the larger animal couldn't understand her, but it was satisfying to say yell that anyway. But she couldn't protect her kit while fighting. To hide her, Shiningsnow nudged her under a pile of moss. Wolfkit watched through a gap in the moss, unseen by the badger. The kit's mother took one last glance at the hiding place before turning back to the badger. _He'll have to kill every single one of us before he gets my kit._

With another loud snarl, the badger lunged for Shiningsnow's throat. Quick as the wind she dodged and turned, facing it once more. Faster then she had expected, the badger turned, and swiped a paw at her head. Unprepared, Shiningstone couldn't move out of the way, and was sent flying into the nursery wall. Her ears rang, and her sight went red. She managed to shake away the dizziness she felt, in time to see the badger running towards her again.

This time she tried something else. _Great Starclan, I hope this works. _Trying to time it just right, she waited until the badger was almost upon her, and leaped out of the way at the last second. For a moment, she thought she had done it, but the feeling of victory faded when she felt teeth close around her tail. The badger was smarter she had first thought, and had managed to stop before hitting the wall.

And now it had it's jaws clamped shut around her tail, bringing her to a halt before pulling her back in one swift move. It's large paw slammed against her chest, pinning her to the ground, it's claws tearing through her skin. The other set of claws raked down her side, and her eyes blurred with pain.

Shiningsnow was losing blood quickly, and with her remaining strength, she wriggled out of the badger'd grasp, and simply, ran. It was all she could do. The entrance was just a paw step away. _I'm almost ou-_

The thought cut short when claws hooked her leg. The she-cat tumbled to the ground, sprawled out in a bed of moss and twigs. Slowly, her strength was leaving her, with each drop of blood...

Two cats raced into the nursery, claws unsheathed. They leaped onto the badger simultaneously, clawing and biting and fighting with everything they had. Shiningsnow's vision had blurred, and she couldn't tell who the two were. But her thoughts began to drift further and further away...

How much time had passed? A few moments? An hour? Everything was starting to look.. white...

_**"Shiningsnow!" **_When the battle was over, and the badger lay dead on the floor, the brown and black tom rushed to his mate's side. Her wounds had stopped bleeding. She was completely still, her eyes open, but clouded, and frozen in a blank stare."Softbreeze!" The tom called for the medecine cat. Softbreeze was there in seconds with her herbs, checking Shiningsnow for any signs of life.

But alas, there was nothing she could do. Shiningsnow's mate knew this from just the look in the medicine cat's eyes. The she-cat was gone. Tears rolled down his face, and he didn't leave her side.

Wolfkit looked on, with terrified eyes behind the safety of the moss.

* * *

"I'm worried."

The blue-grey she cat's meow was quiet. Brackenclaw walked next to his mate, who was carrying a sleeping Glidekit in his jaws. "What about?" he meowed through a mouthful of kit fur. They walked quickly, trying to get back to camp before any of them got too cold. Bluefire had a lot on her mind, while she walked. "She was born perfectly healthy..." she meowed. "Not hurt, or deformed at all." Deciding the give Brackenclaw a break, she took Glidekit into her own jaws. "And that's a bad thing?" The light brown tom's meow sounded confused. "Well no," meowed Bluefire, "But something definitely _seemed_ wrong. It hurt much more then it should, and that fall had to have done _something._ I just have a feeling something might be wrong and we can't tell what it is."

Above, dark clouds were rolling in, threatening rain. "I think you worry too much." meowed Brackenclaw. Both cats were obvlivious to the incoming storm. Strangly, it was drifting through the sky rather quickly. Faster then it should be able to.

They were getting close to camp, when thunder roared overhead, and lightning struck the ground below. Bluefire let out a yowl of alarm as rain began to pour. "Where in the name of Starclan did that come from!?" she yowled over the noise of the storm. Brackenclaw was nudging them under a group of bushes. "Get under cover!" Thunder boomed once more, and Glidekit woke, and looked up at the sky. Unlike most kits she didn't begin crying or mewling in protest. Her reaction was rather blank. Neither of he parents noticed as they were scrambling to get under the bushes.

When they were safe from the rain, Bluefire rested her head on her paws, and rapped her tail around Glidekit. "I guess we're spending the night here." Brackenclaw nodded. "We'll head for camp in the morning." It only took a moment for the two to fall into sleep.

Glidekit stayed awake longer, staring blankly at the sky.

* * *

**A/N I managed to get the second chapter up. -_- Keeping up a fanfiction is tiring. I'm pretty proud of this chapter though. Tell me what you think! Please R&R, so that I know I'm not wasting my time and someone is actually reading this :D**


End file.
